
THE PHILIF^PINKQ. 



SPEECH 



OF 



HON. GEORGE TURNER, 



OK WASHINGTON, 



SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, 



Monday, January 22, and Tuesday, January 23, 1900. 



"It is never too late to listen to the dictates of prudence, and it 
sliould be an easy task when honor points the way." 



PART I. 



"WASHINGTON. 
1900. 









p. 



Cong:. H93ord Off.] 

i-W Oct* ' (Ji 



SPEECH 

Of 

HON. GEORGE TURNER. 



Monday, January 22, 1900. 

The Senate having under consideration the joint resolution (S. R. 45) de- 
claring the purpose of the United States with reference to the Philippine 
Islands- 
Mr. TURNER said: 

Mr. President: We have now had at the present session of 
Congress in this Chamber two deliverances on the Philippine 
question from an Administration standpoint — one by the Presi- 
dent in his annual message to Congress, and one by the junior 
Senator from Indiana [Mr. BeveridgeJ in the speech delivered 
by him in this Chamber on Tuesday of last week. 1 think it may 
be presumed that both deliverances were authoritative — that of 
the President, of coilrse, because it was the utterance of the Presi- 
dent; that of the Senator from Indiana because we were told by 
the inspired press that its delivery was determined after consulta- 
tion with the President, and because the Senator himself told us 
substantially that its delivery at the then early period in the ses- 
sion was on account of the general desire of Senators and Mem- 
bers of the other House to have an expression of his views at the 
earliest practicable moment. I think it may be presumed also that 
a discussion of the subject from two such distinguished sources 
would conclude everything that could be said on that side of the 
question. Notwithstanding this, I must confess that for one I 
am still unregeuerate and unconvinced. Neither the stately pe- 
riods of the President's message nor the fervid oratory of the Sen- 
ator's address can change the truth of history or metamorphose a 
proposed course of action, already partially completed, which 
involves a shocking breach of national faith into an act of policy 
defensible on grounds of justice, morality, and national duty. I 
call the Presidents policy a proposed course of action, because, 
while he is fully committed to it and has endeavored to carry it 
out so far as lay in his power, the path of honorable retreat is yet 
open to the American people. The President himself has consist- 
ently maintained that the ultimate disposition of these islands is 
for the determination of Congress. Everybody knows who knows 
anything that the ratification of the treaty of peace with Spain 
was not intended to cut off or abridge either the right or the oppor- 
tunity for the fullest range of discussion and decision by the 
American Congress. Everyone knows, likewise, that that treaty 
would never have been ratified if there had been an intimation 
in this Chamber by any person that Congress would be embar- 
rassed in considering the matter de novo and wholly without 
4057 3 



iTeference to any chanjjed aspect in the legal status of the matter 
by reason of the ratification of the treaty. 

STKUOOLK FOR LIBEHTY AND INDEPENDENCE. 

Approaching tht^- quostion, then, as if it were still open and nn- 
concluded, as it in fact is. the first thing that strikes my mind, 
and which ought to strike every rightly constituted mind, it seems 
to me, is the breach of I'aith involved in the pretensions put forth 
by the President and in the resolutions of the Senator from In- 
diana of a right to absorb and govern the Philiiipine Islands 
wholly without reference to the consent of the people of those 
islands. That people alone of all the Asiatic peoples has shown a 
remarkable aspiration_for liberty and independenc«, and a no less 
remarkable resolution and courage in the effort to attain those 
great blessing-^. Fur three hundred years they waged againgt 
Spain an intermittent warfare for independence, for the right to 
govern themselves in their own way, under their own laws, and 
by their own rulers. One of those struggles had only lately ter- 
minated when our own war witli Spain began, and it had ter- 
minated on conditions that were honorable and advantageous to 
the insurrectionists. I shall not stop here to discuss the charge 
which has been made, that the leaders of the Filipino people in 
that struggle had sold them out for a moneyed consideration. If 
true, it argues nothing against what I shall say during the prog- 
ress of my remarks. The people of the Philip'pine Islands— and 
I refer now more particularly to those who are engaged in war 
with our own country — are a brave, resolute, liberty-loving peo- 
ple, and the struggles which they have made to secure liberty 
and independence for themselves ought to win them the respect 
and admiration of every member of the American Senate, 

ENCOURAGED BY ADMINISTRATION OVEHTUHES. 

When our war with Spain began it found these people restless 
and discontented, it is true. ])ut still generally at peace with their 
rulers. We induced them to break that peace. Our diplomatic 
agents hunted up their leaders, then dispersed throughout the 
world, and induced them to return to their homes and to their 
people and to foment another insurrection. Our war ships con- 
veyed those leaders to their native shores and landed them there. 
Our functionaries, both civil and military, furnished them with 
money, with arms, ami with munitions of war. When these lead- 
ers had been landed among their people they told them that the 
great North American Republic was at war with Spain: that it 
had invited their assLstan. e and cooperation: that the result would 
be the expulsion of Sjiain from the Philippines, the extinction 
of her power in that quarter of the globe, and the realization of 
their own long-cherished hopes and asjjirations for liberty and 
independence; and basing their action upon these statements, 
they appealed to the people of the Philipiiine Islands to again 
rise in revolt aga nst tlie power of S{)ain. This appeal was re- 
spunded to promi)tly and with remarkable unanimity, and there- 
after the war was waged with such ardor and vi<>;or tha when 
our own land forces had readied the vicinity of Manila they found 
the interior of the island of Lu/.on entirely cleared of'hostile 
Spanish forces. Such as were not then i)risoners of war were 
beleaguered by the insurgents in the city of Manila, and their 
spirit and their coura^re were so broken by the assaults which 
they had been compelled to resist on the part of the Filipinos that 
after a sham battle they surrendcnd themselves and their city 



to the American forces. Undoubtedlj' if our forces had delayed 
their arrival at Manila only a few weeks, the insurgents them- 
selves would have forced a surrender of the city at the point of 
the bayonet. 

FACTS NOT IN ACCOUD WITH PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. 

These facts are shown to be true beyond any question by docu- 
ments in our possession. These documents also show that the 
Filipinos never had any idea from the beginning of their struggle 
that they were fighting for anything other or less than their own 
independence from all foreign domination. Yet the President of 
the United States in his annual message makes the unfounded 
assertion that the idea of independence on the part of the Filipino 
people was an afterthought, founded on the sinister ambitions of 
certain of their leaders. Here is what he says on that subject. 
After having spoken of the arrival of the commissioners appointed 
by him to visit the islands, he says: 

But before their arrival at Manila the sinister ambition of a few leaders of 
the Filipinos had created a situation full of embarrassment for us and most 
grievous in its consequences to themselves. The clear and impartial prelim- 
mary report of the commissioners, which I transmit herewith, gives so lucid 
and comprehensive a history of the present insurrectionary movement that 
the story need not be here repeated. It is enough to say that the claim of the 
rebel leader that he was promised independence by any officer of the United 
States in return for his assistance has no foundation in fact and is categor- 
ically denied by the very witnesses who were called to prove it. The most 
the insurgent leader hoped for when he came ijack to Manila was the libera- 
tion of the islands from the Spanish control, which they had been laboring 
for years without success to throw off. 

Against this unfounded declaration I appeal to the truth of his- 
tory as exhibited in the documents submitted to us by the Presi- 
dent himself and voiiched for as authentic and worthy of credit. 
The first of these documents to which I wish to call the attention 
of the Senate is a proclamation issued by the Filipino junta in 
Hongkong before the departure of Admiral Dewey's fleet to epgage 
the Spanish fleet in the bay of Manila. This proclamation is found 
in Senate Document No. 62, part 1, Fifty-fifth Congress, third ses- 
sion, which document embraces our treaty of peace with Spain, 
the proceedings of our peace commissioners at Paris, and the tes- 
timony submitted to them there, and is a part of the testimony 
which they had under consideration at that time. Now, what 
does this proclamation say? 

Compatriots: Divine Providence is about to place independence within our 
reach, and in a way the most free and independent nation could hardly wish 
for. 

The Americans, not from mercenary motives, but for the sake of human- 
ity and the lamentations of so many persecuted people, have considered it 
oppoi'tune to extend their protecting mantle to our beloved country, now 
that they have been obliged to sever connections with Spain, owing to the 
tyranny this nation is exercising in Cuba, causing enormous injury to the 
Americans, who have such large commercial and other intere.sts there. 

At the present moment an American squadron is preparing to sail for the 
Philippines. 

We, your brothers, are very much afraid that you may be induced to fire 
on the Americans. No, brothers, never make this mistake. Bather blow 
your own brains out than fire a shot or treat as enemies those who are your 
liberators. 

Your natural enemies, your executioners, the authors of your misery and 
unhappiuess. are the Spaniards who govern you. Against these yon must 
raise your weapons and odium; understand well, against the Spaniards and 
never against the Americans. 

Mr. TILLMAN. "What is the date of that proclamation? 
' Mr. TURNER. The date is not given in this publication, but 
it is stated in the puljlication that the proclamation was in ad- 

4037 



6 

vance of the sailing of the American squadron for the harbor of 
Manila. The proc-lumatiou is preceded by the following statement: 

The following is a translation from the Spanish of a proclamation of the 
rebel leaders in HoiiKkoiif?. sent over to the Philippines in advance of the 
American squadrtni. 

The next thing that happened was that General Aguinaldo, the 
leader of the insurgents, appeared in the city of Singapore about 
the :3yth of April, isus, and there he was sought by Mr. E. Spencer 
^ratt. consul of the United States in that city, and after an inter- 
iew between them the following correspondence passed between 
.rilr. Pratt and Admiral Dewey. Mr. Pratt telegraphed: 

AjTuiualdo, insurgent leader, here. Will come Hongkong arrange with 
commodore for general cooperation insurgents Manila if desired Telegraph. 

PRATT. 

To which Commodore Dewey replied: 

Tell Aguinaldo come soon as possible. _ 

DEWEY. 

What passed between Consul Pratt and Aguinaldo is stated in 
a publication in the Singapore Free Press of Wednesday, May 4, 
18'J8, which Consul Pratt incloses in a dispatch to the Secretary 
of State, and he says in reference to this publication: 

I regret to have to report that the circumstances attending the departure 
from here of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo to juiu Commodore Dewey, which I had 
endeavored so hard to prevent lining di-;ckised. were in substance made 
public in yesterday's edition of the Singapore Free Press, from the inclosed 
copy of which vou will note, by relerence to my reports Nos. 213 and 213 of 
the 28th and 30th ultimo, respectively, that though the facts are in the main 
correctly given, the dates are not quite accurate and a certain amount of 
conjecture has been indulged in as regards my action in the matter and that 
of the Commodore. 

Here is what this newspaper says passed between Aguinaldo 
and Consul Pratt, and which Consul Pratt says is substantially 
correct: 

During this conference, at which Mr. Bray acted as interpreter. General 
Aguinaldo explained to the American consul-general, Mr. Pratt, the incidents 
and objects of the late rebellion, and desi-ribed the present disturbed state 
of the country. G<-neral Aguinaldo then proceeded to detail the nature of 
the cooperation he could give, in which he, in the event of the American 
forces from the squadron landing and takmg possession of Manila, would 
guarantee to maintain order and discipline amongst the native troops and 
inhabitants in the same humane way in which lie had hitherto conducted the 
war, and prevent them from committing outragi>s on defenseless Spaniards 
beyond the inevitable in fair and honorabU' warfare. He further declared 
his ability to establish a proper and responsible government on liberal prin- 
ciijles, and would be willing to accept the same terms for the country as the 
United States intend giving to Cuba. 

That is what Aguinaldo told Mr. Pratt he expected from the 
Government of tlu; United States in return for the cooperation of 
himself and his countrymen. And this is what the same news- 
paper account reports Consul Pratt as saying and doing in re- 
sponse to Aguiualdos declaration: 

The consul-general of the United States, coinciding with the general views 
expressed during the discussion, placed himst'lf at once in telegraphic com- 
munication wiih A(lmiral Dewey at Hongkong, between whomand Mr. Pratt 
a frequent interchange of telegrams consequently took place. 

Mr. President, a few days after this interview between Agui- 
naldo and Cdiisul Pratt, and after Aguinaldo had gone to join 
Commodore Dewey, the Filipinos then residing at Singapore, 
e.xiles from thi'ir country, desiring to recognize the interposition 
of Consul Pratt in favor of their country, gave him a compli- 
muntary sertMiaiic, which is also reported in the Singapore Free 
Press, and wliicli he transmits with his di.spatches to the Secre- 
tary of State of the United States. This report throws further 



light upon the relations between this consul and this leader of the 
insurgents, and shows what the Filipinos had a right to expect 
from the Government of the United States. At this serenade an 
address was made to Consul Pratt by Dr. Santos, one of the Filipino 
refugees, and in the course of that address he said. 
Mr. SPOONER. From what page is the Senator about to read? 
Mr. TURNER. From page 351 of this document. He said: 
Our countrymen at home, and those of us residins: here, refugees from 
Spanish misrule and tyranny in our beloved native land, hope that tlie United 
States, your nation, persevering in its humane policy, will efficaciously sec- 
ond the programnae arranged between you, sir, and General Aguinaldo in 
this port of Singapore, and secure to us our independence -.iiider the protec- 
tion of the United States. Our warmest thanks are especially due to you, 
sir, personally, for having been the first to cultivate relations with General 
Aguinaldo and arrange for the coopei'ation with Admiral Dewey, thus sup- 
porting our aspirations which time and subsequent actions have developed 
and caused to meet with the applause and approbation of your nation. Fi- 
nally, we request you to convey to your illustrious President and the Amer- 
ican people, and to Admiral Dewey, our sentiments of sincere gratitude and 
our most fervent wishes for their prosperity. 

Mr. JONES of Arkansas. When was that? 

Mr. TURNER. On June 8. and it is reported in the Straits 
Times, of Singapore, of June 9. 

Consul Pratt, in his I'eply, does not deny that he had promoted 
this arrangement to secure the independence of the Filipino peo- 
ple under the protection of the United States. On the contrary, 
his reply tacitly admits it. He says: 

I am thankful to have been the means, though merely the accidental means, 
of bringing about the arrangement between General Aguinaldo and Admiral 
Dewey, which has resulted so happily. I can only hope that the eventful 
outcome will be all that can be desired for the happiness and welfare of the 
Filipinos. My parting words to General Aguinaldo were, " General, when 
you have proved yourself great, prove yourself magnanimous," and from the 
ti'eatment accorded to the recent Spanish prisoners it would appear that he 
had done so. 

The next document to which I wish to call attention, and all of 
these documents are appended to the Spauish treaty and were sub- 
mitted to our commissioners at Paris, is the letter from Aguinaldo 
to the President, dated June 10, 1898. This letter is found on 
pages 360 and 861 of Senate Document No. 62: 

Cavite, June 10, 1898. 
To the President of the Republic of the Great North American Nation. 

Dear and HoNonED Sir: I come to greet you with the most tender effu- 
sion of my soul and to express to you my deep and sincere gratitude, in the 
name of the unfortunate Philippine people, for the efficient and disinterested 
protection which you have decided to give it, to shake off the yoke of the 
cruel and corrupt Spanish domination, as you are doing to the equally unfor- 
tunate Cuba, which Spain wishes to see annihilated, i-ather than free and in- 
dependent, giving her, to quiet her and to cicatrize the deep wounds made 
in her heart by the iniquities committed upon her children, a false autonomy, 
of which one bold blow of the Govei-nor-General may deprive her imme- 
diately, as she has no colonial army to serve as a counterpoise to the almost 
sovereign powers of that supreme authority. 

At the same time, as I am always frank and open, I must express to you 
the great sorrow which all of us Filipinos felt on reading in the Times , a 
newspaper of the greatest circulation and reputation in the whole world, in 
its issue of the 5th of last month, the astounding statement that you, sir, will 
retain these islands until the end of the war, and, it Spain fails to pay the 
indemnity, will sell them to a Euroijean power, preferably Great Britain. 

After going on and arguing against such a course, he concludes 
in the last paragraph of this letter by stating: 

I close by protesting once and a thousand times, in the name of this people, 
which knows how- to fight for its honor by means of its improvised warriors 
and artillery men. against the .statement'published by the Times, mainly for 
the purpose of casting a blot in history upon its glorious name: a people which 
trusts blindly in you not to abandon it to the tyranny of Spain, bui; to leave 
4057 



8 

It free and Independent, even if you make peace with Spain, and I offer iiv- 
vcnt pnivor for the over-increasing prosperity of your i)Owerful nation, to 
which and to you I shall show nnoounded gratitude, and shall repay with 
Interest that great obliKatiau. 

The next document to which I call the attention of the Senate 
is a letter from Consul Wildman to Aguinaldo from Hongkong. 
The date is not given here, but it is contained in a dispatch to the 
State Department l)j- Consul Wildman, dated August 7, I see that 
in the body of the dispatch he says he wrote this letter to Agui- 
naldo on July 25, 189S. 

If you stand shoiilder to shoulder 

Mr. QUARLES. On what page is that found? 

Mr. TURNER. It is page 83lt. at the bottom of the page. In 
this letter to Aguinaldo Consul Wildman says: 

If you stand shoulder to shoulder with our forces, and do not allow any 
small diflfereuces of opinion ar.d fancied slights to keep you from the one set 

Eurpose of freeing your isla7id from the cruelties under which you claim it 
as ueen groaning for so many huudred years, your name in history will he 
a glorious one. There are greater prizes in the world than being the mere 
chief of a revolution. 

Now, mark this language: 

Do not forget that the L'nited States undertook this war for the sole pur- 
pose of relieviuf; the Ciibmis from the cruelties under which they wore suf- 
fering, and not for the love of conquest or the hope of gain. Whatever the 
final ai.-<!iosition of the conquered territory may be, you can trust to the United 
States that justice and honor will control all their dealing.s with you. The 
first thing is to throw off the Spanish yoke. Do not let anything interfere 
with this. 

Now, Mr. President, for the purpose of showing that these 
representations were brought to the attention of the Department, 
I refer the Senate to a memorandum made by Secretary J. B. 
Moore for the information of Secretary Day, dated .Tune 22, 1898, 
and found iu this publication on page 340. This memorandum 
says: 
For the Secretary: 

Here are two dispatches from Mr. Pratt, consul-general at Singapore, 
respectively numbered 214 and ;?17. 

No. 214 incloses a copy of Mr. Pratt's confidential No. 212, to which you 
hav« already replied. 

It also incloses a copy of his No. 213, narratiupc his parting interview with 
General Agniinaldo. Sir. Pratt states that in this interview he enjoined upon 
CJeneral Aguinaldo the necessity, under Commodore Dewey's direction, of 
assuming absolute control over his forces iuthe Philippines, since noexcesses 
on their part would be tolerated by the United States, the President having 
declared that the present hostilities with Spain were to be carried on in 
strict conformity with the principles of civilized warfare. Mr. Pratt states 
that to this injunction General Aguinaldo gave his full assent, assuring him 
that he intended, and was able, when in the field, to hold his followers, the 
insurgents, in check and lead them on "a.« our commander should direct." 

General Aguinaldo, as Sir. Pratt re|)orts, "further stated that he hoped 
the United States would assume protection of the L'bilippines for at least long 
enough to allow the inhabitants to establish a government of their own, in 
the organization of which he would desire American advice and assistance." 
•' These questions," says Mr. Pratt. "I told him I had no authority to discuss." 
This conHrms Mr. Pratt's statement, in his recent telegram, that he confined 
his nction to bringing General Aguinaldo and Commodore Dewey together. 

The only intimation in this whole record from beginning to end 
that the Filipinos or any])ody acting for them ever expressed a 
•willingness to accept anything less than their independence is 
contained in a letter addressed by Consul Williams at Manila to 
Sfcn-tary Day, dated June IG. I'^'.IS. in which he states that in a 
conversation with Aguinaldo the latter had stated that certain of 
his leaders had expres.sed a willingness to accept annexation to 
the United Slates. Yet, Mr. President, Aguinaldo, in the letter 
to the President which I have already read, dated June 10, 1898, 



six days before this supposed conversation between himself and 
Consul Williams, had notified the President that when peace v.-as 
finally concluded between the United States and Spain he expected 
that it would be done upon terms that would concede the inde- 
pendence of the Philippine Islands. 

AGUINALDO'S ARGUMENT FOR SELF-GOVERNMENT. 

Moreover, Aguinaldo, in a letter to Consul Williams, dated 
August 1, 1898, only one month and fourteen days after this sup- 
posed conversation between himself and Consul Williams, argued 
strenuotisly and forcefully in favor of the independence of the 
Philippine Islands and gives no intimation whatever that in any 
conversation w-ith Consul Williams he had indicated the willing- 
ness of anybody connected with the Philippine republic to accept 
annexation to the United States. This letter is so pathetic and 
affecting and breathes so high a spirit that it would move the 
heart of anybody not impervious to generous and magnanimous 
feelings. I desire to read a few of its passages to the Senate in 
this connection. It is found in the Senate document before read 
from, on pages 398 and 399. He says: 

Why do not the American generals operate in conjunction with the Fili- 
pino generals and, uniting the forces, render the end more decisis'e? 

Is it intended, indeed, to carry out annexation asfainst the wish of these 
people, distorting the legal sense of that word? If the revolutionary govern- 
ment is the genuine representative, by right and deed, of tho FiUpino people, 
as we have proved when necessary, why is it wished to oppress instead of 
gaining their confidence and friendship? 

It is useless for me to represent to my compatriots the favors received 
through Admiral Dewey, for they assert that up to the present the Ameri- 
can forces have shown not an active, only a passive, cooperation, from which 
they suppose that the intention of these forces are not for the best. They 
assert, besides, that it is possible to suppose that I was brought from Hong- 
kong to assume those forces bv my presence that the Filipinos would not 
make common cause with the Spaniards, and that they have delivered to the 
Filipinos the arms abandoned by the former in the Cavite arsenal, m order 
to save themselves much labor, fatigue, blood, and treasure that a war with 
Spain would cost. . . ^ , ^ „ „ , 

But I do not believe these unworthy suspicions. I have full conhdence m 
the generosity and philanthropy which shine In characters of gold in the his- 
tory of the privileged people of the United States, and for that reason, in- 
voking the friendship which you profess for me and the love which you have 
for my people, I pray you earnestlv, as also the distinguished generals who 
represent your country in these islands, that you entreat the Government at 
Washington to recognize the revolutionary government of the Filipinos, and 
I, for my part, Will labor with all my power with my people that the United 
States shall not repent their sentiments of humanity in coming to the aid of 
an oppressed people. , ^.,. . , ^ ■ j. 

Say to the Government at Washington that the Fihpmo people abominate 
savagery, that in the midst of their past misfortunes they have learned to 
love liberty, o'-der, justice, and civil life, and that they are not able to lay 
aside their own wishes when their future lot and history are under discus- 
sion Say also that I and my leaders know what wo owe to our unfortunate 
country, that we know how to admire and are ready to imitate the disinter- 
estedness, the abnegation, and the patriotism of the grand men of America, 
among whom stands preeminent the immortal General Washington. 

You and I both love the Filipinos; both see their progress, their prosper- 
ity and their greatness. For this we should avoid any conflict which would 
be fatal to the interests of both peoples, who should always be brothers. In 
this you will acquire a name in the history of humanity and an ineradicable 
affection in the hearts of the Filipino people. 

Mr. President, can anybody read these documents and say truth- 
fully "that the idea of independence was an afterthought with the 
Filipino people? On the contrary, from the very beginnmg, from 
a period anterior even to the outbreak of hostihties between our 
Government and Spain, they were advising us m any and every 
possible way that the stake for which they were fighting and tor 
which they expected to fight was the independence of their beloved 
country. Nor is it strictly true, Mr. President, to say that they 
4057 



10 

were never promised their imlepemlence. A fair reading of these 
letters of Consul Pratt and Consul Williams would induce us to 
>;ay that they were itrouiised independence by those officials, u not 
inexpress terms, at least by necessary iinpluation. A reading of 
the letters from General Anderson, the conimander of our forces 
at ( avite before the arrival of General Merritt in that country, 
would also ciirry the same iutimaiion to tluix jieople. I want the 
Senate to listen to wliat General Anderson said to them at that 
time. On the 4th dav of July, 1898. General Anderson indited a 
letter to General Agiiinaldo, and said to him in that letter, among 
other things: 

Mr. Si'Ov )NER. On what page is that found? 

Mr. TURNER. That letter is found on page 390. General 
Anderson wrote to Aguinaldo as follows: 

CiENLitAi,: I have the honor to inform you that the inited States of Amer- 
icft, whose land forces 1 have the honor to command in this vicinity, beins at 
war with the Ivin^'dom of Spain, hu.-^ entire sympathy and mos>t friendly sen- 
tiu'.euts for th<> native peojile of the Philippine Islands. 

i-'or these reasons I desire to have the most amicable relations with you, 
and to have you and your people cooperate with ns in military operations 
against the Spanish forces. 

In another letter found in this document, at page 391, dated 
July 6, 1898, General Anderson says to Aguinaldo: 

V"ry soon wo exjx'ct a large addition to our forces, and it must be appa- 
rent to you a.s a militarv otticer that we will require much more room to 
•:;amp our soldiers and also storeroom for our supplies. For this I would 
like to have your excellency's advice and cooperation, as you are best 
acquai: ted with the resources of this country. 

It must 1)1- apparent to vou that we do not intend to remain here inactive, 
but to move pr<>ini)tly against our common eiumy: but for a short time we 
must o;-L"auize ami land sui>plies and also retain a place for storing them near 
our fleet and transports. „. „ ...,,, ^.. c 

I am solicitous tu avoid any conflict of authority which may result from 
having two sets of military oflicers exercising command in the same place. 

1 am also an-ious to avoid sickness by taking sanitary precautions. Your 
own medic.il ollicers have been making voluntary inspections with mine and 
fear epidemic disease if the vicinity is not made clean. Would it not be 
well to have prisoners work to this end under the advice of the surgeons? 

I call the attention of the Senate to the fact that we had no pris- 
oners at that time, but the only Spanish prisoners were those held 
by the tore-s of the Philippine republic. 
"Mr. M( LAURIN. Whose letter is that? 

^Ir. TUJiNER. That is General Anderson's letter to General 
Aguinaldo. The last letter from General Anderson to which I 
shall call the attention of the Senate is dated July 23, 1898, and in 
it he say.-i to Aguinaldo: 

Genkual: VHien I came here three weeks ago I requested your excellency 
to i^ive wliut a.ssistance you could to procure means of transportation for the 
American army, as it was to fight in tlie cause of your people. So far we 
have received no rcsjionse. 

As you rejiresent your peoi)le, I now have the honor to make requisition 
on you for ^Af) hors^-s and M o.'cen and ox carts. 

If you can not .secure these, I will have to pass you and make requisition 
directly on the people. 

The cause of these letters and other letters, and acts of a simi- 
lar character, with which I shall not further weary the Senate, 
was e.xplained in the testimony of General .Merritt, given before 
our peace oimniissioners at Paris. That testimony, or so much 
of it as 1 will read, will be found on page 307 of Senate Document 
No. 'iJ. Among other things, General Merritt says to the com- 
missioners: 

B«-fnro that time, rather early after my arrival there at JIanila, 1 liad tele- 
(friii'lii'd to the War Depart ni-nt of the possible trouble that might arise 
Willi the ins'.irgontb, and iwkej for instriii tioiiH as to whether I should con- 



11 

sider them as enemies and treat them accordinprly in such case. To that re- 
quest I had no replv, and the consequence was I had to mis diplomacy with 
force in order to avoid a tilt with tUem. I knew if bloodshed was once had 
that would be the end of an amicable status there, and to that end I was care- 
ful only to enforce that which was proper and which I conceived must be 
executed in order to have my troops fully occupy the ground we had taken. 

Mr. President, when Secretary Day heard of this interview be- 
tween Ai^uinaldo and Consul Pratt at Singapore and of the letter 
addressed to Aguinaldo by Consul Wildman at Hongkong he took 
occasion to write a letter to each of those o.ricials disavowing their 
course, but he never disavowed, nor did any other official of this 
Government ever disavow, the course ©f those consuls to Agui- 
naido or to anybody else„ although we were then in daily com- 
munication with Aguinaldo in and about the vicinity of Manila. 
"Why was not this done? The answer is obvious and is indicated 
in the testimony of General Merritt. We desired the friendly 
cooperation and assistance of the Filipinos in our war with Spain. 
We knew that if we disclosed to them our purpose to absorb iheir 
land and deny their independence, we would not only not have 
their friendly cooperation and assistance, but we would have their 
active opposition. We knew that we would be at v.'ar, not only 
with the Spaniards, but with the Filipinos, from the very moment 
that we set foot upon the soil of those islands. 

WE SOUGHT AND ACCEPTED FILIPINO ASSISTANCE. 

Mr. President, does not this whole miserable history bear out 
the statement with which I began, that we owe that to the Fili- 
pinos, by virtue of what has transpired, which, if we now go on 
with our pretensions against their liberty and their independence, 
will be looked on as a gross breach of faith upon the part of the 
American people? Whatever may be said as to actual promises of 
independence, it is indisputable, nobody can deny it. that we sought 
and accepted the assistance of the > ilipinos, knowing that the 
stake which they fought for was independence, and when they 
had almost won their independence, when it required but one 
more effort on their part to clear their soil from the last vestige of 
Spanish domin:on. we, their professed friend and ally, without 
any previous intimation of our purpose, stepped into the shoes of 
Spain and opposed our overwhelming power to the accomplish- 
ment of their long-cherished hopes and aspirations. Mr. Presi- 
dent, our conduct then and there has no parallel in the history 
of the world from the beginning of time down to the present 
moment. If it be persisted in it will be worse than Punic faith. 
Beside it Punic faith will hereafter be considered as full observ- 
ance of honorable obligations. It is indescribable. To the honest, 
unperverted American mind it is inconceivable. I venture the 
assertion that there is not one American voter in a hundred 
who would not have repudiated as perfidious and dishonorable 
the pretensions put forth by the President of the United States 
and by the resolutions of the Senator from Indiana [Mr. Bever- 
idge] , if they had been called upon with full knowledge of all 
the facts to sanction them in the beginning and before the pres- 
ent desolating war began. The truth of the matter is that those 
pretentions have from the beginning and do now constitute a 
stain on the honor of this nation, which we may atone for if we 
will, but which can never be entirely wiped out. The man or 
men who have put us in this position before the world deserve and 
will receive the condemnation of the American people. That 
people have a conscience which stings and an honor which repro- 

4057 



., ..„ .n,-. ,„ r,.. Ti.t..! l.v their strvants and in 

J, i.,V)lile. Those in high 

{, . ,iK<« lit the dictation of 

Llau«l .-Ai-iu-uc, wi.. i«.4r.. U.Ht fa. t lo their '^^"O^V""^ ]f: 
fore thu dei.l. -ruble chapter in our natJoual history 18 closea 
forv%'er. 

I'l-IU-IIAill or THE l'llll.irPI.NK« 

\(, I'r^., i..T,t the Pr»^ident in hi** annual message to Congress 
,„ ^'ht in the I'hilij.i'in.-Hon the ground that we had 

d, I j,r..iMiH»sl uotling to th« iuhiibitants of those 

1*1,.. ..is wt.wh i.reolud.-l mh in Honor from ncciuiniig them and 

on t>..- furtht-r ground tluil weha.l loyally j.urchi.s.-d those islamls 
f, ih.-ir f-rui.-r own. r. and lie derlarf<l. thereioie. that 

t ^ bv cv.rv title of law and equity. I do not believe 

t:, . . ^rr oiim bv eiih-r title. If they were j.rivate posses- 

si. .n^ «nT cort of •<iuity admdicating between ourselves and the 
Fil • i! . «■ eren Judge Dav hirr!-«!f. in his capacity as a judge ot 
fi • . lurt of thf III a.linini><tering(Mjuity. would 

{^. .1 to d.'clan- «■• 1 tiiat. instead of being trus- 

,. ... •;,Hl«»rt. ........ ii.»' Senator from Iniliaua I Mr. 

] . ' « are. we are in truth and in fact trustees 

,1. ! the right* of the Filipinos. The suggestio 

falM i»nd ihe suppn-sio v.ri are both there for the purposeof con- 
str.uting th" e.,uiUble iuriwliction. Nor do 1 beli.veit hesin our 
inotiih to «av that we hold a leiral title to those islands. Caveat 
em!>t..r. How coul.l we purchase- fr..m Spain something which 

<:. . . If ...1 . . . ... ...ss? How could ihi; Filipini'sbe bound 

'].'' " n in un.lertaking to sell a sovereignty 

^T iroin her bythe (iod-given right of reyo- 

Intion.- if »l b«j i»ai.i that while Sj.ain had lost her sovereignty 
d»> tarto it Rtill exij<te.l de jnre, I say that as to us she had lost 
h.-r (...V. rriL^nty Ix.th iti law and in fact. We can not be per- 
mute 1 ;n ativ :..rum. cith.-r of law or ronsc-ipnre. to breathe both 
\ . . • • •»••• 1 ' ■ "!os. Having assisted them to destroy 

\ we (an not l>e permitted now to turn 

4 . it ifl true that that sovereignty had do- 

pnrl^l >%»> n fa^t. »t biill existed de jure, for the purposeof pui- 
/.>,ni>«> bv ii«». And I rail the attention of the Senate to the fact 
''.^whatever in the Pliilippines, it is by 
. .'iiiil nothiii'.,' else. At the time of the 
1. li t'uded the war with Spain, we were 
i(K>t of territory in the Philiiipines 
II wrest.d from Spain by the vic- 
iie rej)ublic. and by them snrren- 
V to a friend and an ally. Judge 
• _-ht in a ]ml>li.ation from him 
!"W we<-ks ago, and in which 
we tlo possess in the Philip- 
, and not by conquist. 1 am si>rry 
.i.d Hatisfactory exjjtession of Judge 
! •. It) j.rLScut to the Senate now in connection 

, I. ...... , V xilK I«I,AM)S. 

It may l» a*^ :'i»t any discussion of the status of 

tl.:- I • i;Trv !i iHlands froui a legal sfand])oint is 

i, ■• .lur tu)V«'reignty has been declared by 

x(>il in all our own forums. But is it so 



13 

fixed, Mr. President? Neither that instrument nor any other to 
which the Filipinos were not parties can fix it in the forum of 
conscience. That forum finds its being in tlie Congress of the 
United States primarily, with right of appeal to the people of 
the United States in their collective capacity as the ultimate sov- 
ereign to whom all questions of conscience must in the end be 
submitted and decided. That people will determine hereafter, 
whatever Congress may now do, whether the Philippines "are 
ours by every title of law and equity." Our people are broad, 
generous, humane, and magnanimous, and their every instinct is 
for right and justice. I can not doubt that, when the- matter is 
submitted to them understandingly, they will render a just and 
righteous verdict. In the meantime, what a cause and what a 
forum for an advocate filled with holy zeal for justice and with 
righteous indignation against wrong perpetrated in high places! 
Oh, for a Burke, or a Fox, or a Pitt to demand justice for an out- 
raged people, and to scourge with scorpion whip the cant and 
hypocrisy that would oppress them under the guise of extending 
liberty and civilization. 

Mr. President, the Senator from Indiana did not address him- 
self to our position in the Philippines from the standpoint of right 
and justice. His address was a rhapsody directed to our interests 
and our senses; arfd while it was very beautiful, he must pardon 
me for saying that it lacked that majestic harmony which can be 
evoked only when the nobler chords are struck. We now know 
from his address, if we did not before know, that the islands are 
both rich and beautiful, that their climate is salubrious, their 
waters healing, their soil fertile, their productions diversified, 
their position commanding, and that the opportunities to exploit 
them for our enricluuent are many and manifold; but we do not 
know by what right Spain, after being expelled from them by 
their 10,000,000 inhabitants, could sell them and their inhabit- 
ants to us without the consent of the latter, nor do we know by 
what right the United States, after having assisted to expel Spain 
from those islands, could buy them and their 10.000,000 inhabit- 
ants without the consent of the latter. Nor does the Senator from 
Indiana tell us, unless he intends us to infer the right from the 
claim which he makes, that the Filipinos are a barbarous race of 
people and that the principles of liberty declared by our great 
political charter were never intended to have application to such 
a people. But the Senator must pardon me again if I express 
doubt whether his opportunities have been such as to constitute 
him an authority on the subject of the capabilities of the Filipino 
people.* We all know that his ability to travel through the island 
of Luzon and to mix with its people was much restricted during 
his recent visit to the Orient, and the same may be said of all the 
other islands, unless possibly we except that group governed by 
the Sultan of Sulu. Those islands, I believe, at the time of the 
visit of the Senator had been won over to friendly consideration 
by the extraordinary means which that great oriental statesman, 
Li Hung Chang, advised us to employ in the efforts to pacify all of 
the islands. But there are others, whose opportunities have been 
greater than those of the Senator from Indiana, who tell us a dif- 
ferent story concerning the capabilities of the Filipinos: and I 
prefer, as I have no doubt the country will prefer, to believe them 
rather than to accept the version of the Senator from Indiana. 

Admiral Dewey tells us, from observation and experience with 
4057 



14 

the Filipinos, that they are far more capable of self-governmeut 
than the natives of Cuba. He reiterated this in his views formu- 
lated for the information of our peace commissioners at Paris. 
In those vipws, which are published in Senate Document No. G2, 
on page ;!S:!. I find, among others, this statement from Admiral 
Dewey. It is very brief: 

In a telegram sent to the Department on June 33 I expressed the opinion 
tnat ■■ these people are f«r superior m their intelligence and more capaVjle of 
8olf-soveriimfi:t tlian the nrttivi's of Cuba, anri T am familiar with both 
ni'-es." Further intercourse with them has (.•onfirmed me in this opinion. 

Mr. TILLMAN. As the Senator is speaking of Admiral Dew- 
v'-'b testimony in connection with this matter, I should like to ask 
liira if he has ever found in any official dispatch whether or not 
.Admiral Dewey made a compact with Aguinaldo as to the condi- 
tions on which the war should be prosecuted? 

Mr. TURNER. I have found nothing on that subject in the 
documents published. 

Mr. CHANDLER. May I ask the Senator a question? 

Mr. TCRNER. Certainly. 

Mr. CHANDLER. 1 ask whether there is any evidence that 
there were any active insurgent's in the Philippine Islands when 
Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet? The Senator speaks of our 
assisting the insurgents to take possession of the Philippine 
Islands. When the news of Dewey's victory went around the 
world, and when, as the Senator says, we began to assist the insur- 
gents to take possession of the islands, were there any active in- 
BuvLcents in all the islands? 

Mr. TURNER. Yes. 

Mr. CHANDLER. If so. I should be very glad to be informed 
of it, because I had supposed there were none. 

Mr. TURNER. I shall not take the time to turn to the letter 
now, but the Senator will find in thisi)ublication a dispatch from 
Consul Williams, at Manila, to Secretary Day. before the outbreak 
of liostilities between the United States and Spain, in which Con- 
sul Williams told Judge Day tliat there were 5,000 armed insur- 
gents then in and around the city of Manila. 

Mr. CHANDLER. I have no doubt there were plenty of armed 
Filipino insurgents at Hongkong, but I have yet tosee any reliable 
evidence that the insurrection at thai particular time had one par- 
ticle of vitality in the Philippine Islands. 

Mr. TURNER. Then the Senator has not read this correspond- 
ence, which I commend to his consideration. 

Mr. CHANDLER. If tlie Senator will allow me, there were 
undoubtedly insurgents, inhabitants of the Philippine Islands, 
with arms which they were ready to use if they were encouraged 
a 111 assisted, as the Senator says, by the United States, but that 
the insurrection had any vitality whatever on the day of Dewey's 
victory I have never believed. 

Mr. TILLMAN. With the ])ermissi()n of the Senator from 
Washington. I will read from page :!1!) of Senate Doctmient No. 
0;.'. Fifty-fifth Cong- ess. third session, a letter from Consul Wil- 
liams, dated February ','3, 18US, in which he says: 

iVace wii«pr<x!hiiini'(l. und since my coming' festivities therefor were held- 
but there is no pence and has l.cfii none for about two years. Conditions here 
and in Cuba arc nnicti<-ully alike. War exists, battles are of ahnost daily 
cxciirnnce. amualances brinjf in many wounded, and hospitals are full. 

That was February 22, 18iW, before we declared war. 

I'liHoners are brought hero and shot witljout trial, and Manila is under 
marti.-il law. 

4057 



15 

The Crown forces have not been able to dislodgre a rebel arrny within 10 
allies of Manila, and last Saturday, February 19, a battle was there fought 
and five dead left oh the field, i-iuch of such information is found in my 
longer dispatch, referred to, and which is at your command. 

Mr. CHANDLER. If the Senator will allow me, the difficulty 
is for me to understand, if that be true — and I am not now pre- 
pared to say that it is not true, although I somf^what doubt it — 
why Aguinaldo and all the leaders of the rebellion had gone off 
to Hongkong to enjoy the money of the Spanish Government, 
which had been agreed to be paid to them as a reason for aban- 
doning the insurrection. 

Mr. TURNER. Mr. President 

Mr. HOAR. I should like to ask the Senator one question. I 
inquire if the Senator has formed his opinion on this subject in 
ignorance of that fact? 

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Taliai^ekro in the chair)-. 
The Senator from Washington [Mr. Turner] is entitled to the 
floor. 

Mr. TILLMAN. With the consent of the Senator from Wash- 
ington, I will read some additional testimony from Mr. Williams, 
under date of March 19, 1898, page 330 of the same dociiment. 
He writes to the Assistant Secretary of State a^ follows: 

Sir: Matters are in a serious state here. I have daily communication by 
cable and letter with Commodore Dewey, but we pass letters by British and 
other shipmasters and by private parties, because cables and letters are 
tampered with. 

Insurrection is rampant; many killed, wounded, and made prisoners on 
both sides. 

* . * * * * * * 

Rebellion never more threatening to Spain. Rebels getting arms, money, 
and friends, and they outnumber the Spaniards, residents, and soldiery prob- 
ably a hundred to one. 

If Mr. Williams was a liar, he ought not to have been there as 
the consul of the United States. 

Mr. TURNER. Mr. President, to proceed with the tenor of my 
remarks and to return to the question of the capacity of the Fili- 
pinos for government, the next document to which I call the 
attention of the Senate is a dispatch from Consul Williams to the 
Secretary of State, found on pages 327 and 328, written a very 
short time after the battle of Manila Bay. It is dated May 13, 
1898. He says to the Secretary: 

These natives are eager to be organized and led by United States omcers> 
and the members of their cabinet visited me and gave assurance that all 
would swear allegiance to and cheerfully follow our flag. They are brave, 
submissive, and cheaply provided for. 

To show their friendliness for me as our nation's only representative in 
this part of the world, I last week went on shore at Cavite with British con- 
sul, m his launch, to sliow the destruction wrought by our fleet. As soon ae 
natives found me out, they crowded around me, hats off, shouting " Vivalos 
Americanos," thronged about me by hundreds to shake either nand, even 
several at a time, men, women, and children striving tu get even a finger to 
shalje. So I moved half a mile, shaking continuously with both hands. The 
British consul, a smiling spectator, said he never before saw such an evidence 
of f rs gndship. Two thousand escorted me to the launch amid hurrahs of good 
feeling for our nation, hence 1 must conclude— 

And it is these conclusions of Consul Williams to which T wish 
the particular attention of the Senate: 

First. Our squadron can force surrender in a day. Spaniards are all cooped 
up in Manila. 

This was before our troops got there at all. 

Second. Spanish ofQcers of native regiments away, these 6,0fi0, together 
with selections from the 37.000 insurgents, can give us ample land force, and 
can be well armed with rifles of Spanish •oldiors and from barracks and 
arsenals. 
i057 



LltiKHKY Ul- LUNUKt^b 



013 903 961 



16 

.' ■ ■ troops will be needed for conquest, and fewer 
Minn '.f Sii-inluriis naval, civil, military, and 
r d and <hun;.'r. and civil Rovornmont, crude in 
•; the jin-sent, will l)eeasvand be well ri'ieived, 
li there arc many, can fully and with i»>i-fect 
iH riviuiremout« 80 far a.s present established 

ri • . ; ^- ; : 1 ^ . ■ , , ! ' . ■ . T I . . . 1 . 

Consul Wiili.'ims in tliis letter states to the Secretary of State 
that til.' Kovomment of those insurprents. while crude in the be- 
>?inin:i^', would be l>etter tlnm that which was then being admin- 
iRtore.1 by the Spaniards in that country. Can it be that a people 
who could administer better government than the Spaniards are 
capable of adnnuistennK can be truthfully said to be barbarians? 

1 he next evidence to which I shall call the attention of the Sen- 
ate on th<s subject i.s a letter from General King, very much in 
line with that of Admiral Dewey. This letter is dated San Fran- 
cisco June '2-2, ISO'J. It is found published in Senate Document 
^o. Go, and is as follows: 

San Francisco, June St, 1899. 
To thf Editor of the Journal, miuyjuke^. Wis. 

pKAH Sill: TLiuklng over j-onr telotrram and request of June 7. I find mv- 
S^l^.^V"r ^1 ^'^.^'"■'•f'Si'J- As '*" "Itt'-er of the Army, there arc many rei 
Bon« why I should u.^t tdve my "viewsof situation in the Philii.pines how 
oTillan.iL!"*^' '""''>''««'°tmue,and thoughtsng to America's part in futur. 

Til. .M.„ibiHty of the Filipinos for 8.1f-(?overnment can not be doubted. 
• Arellano, ..^inaluo and many other.s whom I might name are 

' ^•"- I'lne tenths of the people road and write, all are skilled 

l\. ,.V,Tr^'-,T,i*rV* '•'''■• 'K>'*'"':""'»«t'-'t"'°-fr»snl. temperate, and, 

Ki- -I. H :t.i .start eonld 1.,ok out for themselves iulinitelv better than our 
P*..ple imuKine. In my oi..n.on, they rauk fur hi^fher than the Cubans or thi 
uueducated n-^-roo« to w£om we have j^iven the right of suffrage 
Very truly, yours, '' 

CHARLES KING, 
,-,, tirigadier-GentriU. 



/ 



